Bethany, who had previously worked as a dishwasher, filled out application after application at various restaurants and cafes and had a few interviews, but unfortunately didn’t get any of the jobs. While she loves kitchen work, she kept her options open and tried shadowing someone in a housekeeping position. After feeling a bit defeated and confused by the job searching process, Bethany took a break. Brittany Hilton, her Lebanon, Pa. Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) Inc. job coach, helped her...

YAP's program in Washington DC is participating in Opportunity Connections Summer, a 6-week program that connects justice-involved youth to people in the workforce, as covered by this article in Afro.com.

There is an unemployment crisis in Chicago, particularly affecting young people of color, according to a new report by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Nearly half of black men 20-24 in the city are "disconnected," meaning out of work and not enrolled in school. A YAP youth is quoted in the article, speaking to his belief that increased job opportunities would lead to a decrease in violence across the city: "If more jobs was opened up to the youth, there wouldn't be nobody killing. They...

Today, YAP leaders Shaena Fazal and Ed DeJesus are presenting YAP's model at a Washington, D.C. conference open to the public, organized by the World Bank. To join the webex or audio conference, see the login information below. ------------------------------------Reintegrating Youth: Lessons from 100 Communities in the U.S.Thursday, December 3, 2015 || 1:00 - 3:00 pm || Room J 5-050Lunch will be servedEmpowering youth requires providing them with the resources, information, skills and opportun...

YAP has just launched an innovative workforce development program in three cities designed to change the way system involved youth are prepared for long term labor force attachments and success - YAPWORX. YAPWORX is developed on a Positive Youth Justice framework. It is designed to improve a young person’s attitudes towards gainful work by giving them genuine access to labor market information, the opportunity to take on new roles as ambassadors of that information, and the assistance to form g...